Rescue
by Michaela Will
Summary: A second form dashed into her vision, a green blur that held position between her and the missing Rock nin. His shiny hair settled in a perfectly neat, round shape on the back of his neck. "Konoha-san, are you okay?"


Rescue

by Michaela Wills

Her panicked blood throbbed in her veins: a sounding, loud echo on her skin, rippling against the fear she sought to control.

The need to hyperventilate rang an intensely captivating impulse. With a difficult swallow, she forced her breathing to remain slow and shallow despite the need burning in her organs to suck on the air. Further, she cupped her hand around her mouth to avoid her breath from heating the air, steaming, and giving away her position. She refused to let her body move despite aching muscles. This was the price, her mind spoke, for not being more careful.

She had allowed the missing Rock nin to close with her just the moment before and he broke her ankle. Well, break didn't quite cover it. All the bones in her ankle were shattered to fragments. In a moment of medical intrigue she looked over her appendage with a detached clinical eye. Actually, it wasn't just the ankle: the fractures continued right up both the tibia and fibula two-thirds the length to the patella. She examined it to see if a rough healing in the field was possible, but no. She discovered, chagrined to recognize it, the chakra-enhanced grip the Rock nin used on her ankle was of a similar application as her own earth-shattering punches. The result was a mess she couldn't hope to patch without precision, or she would cripple herself for life. She needed more equipment than was readily available, a focused eye, and steady hands: all things she didn't have a prayer of managing right now. Warmth would help too.

She was lucky to be alive. The shocking pain and loss of a supporting leg caused her to collapse before him, falling to her knees as he crowed, pulling himself the rest of the way clear of the earth and snow. He lorded over her for a very brief moment and unsheathed a short sword sharp enough to cleave her scarf in half with the barest breath of contact. It took sheer willpower to accumulate speed enough to hide.

Now, she waited, praying that he couldn't find her before she thought of a way out. She needed to take the Rock nin down without moving too much. Former Rock nin, she reminded herself. The next problem -- managing to drag her resistant leg the 10 kilometers left to reach Konoha -- she would worry about once the first was incapacitated or dead. In a rare moment, she found death preferable. She'd have more time that way.

She thought through possible jutsus and with laborious silence pulled out an exploding tag and four kunai. She would have one chance to take him down. Her leg barely had the strength to hold her weight for a minute.

Lifting her body from the ground required pressing her back to the tree and inching up, painfully. Her lungs continued to burn for more oxygen that she could scarcely afford to provide. Finally, once she stood upright she removed her hand from her mouth and very carefully she allowed her breathing to pick up.

The air hit her throat sharply, the biting cold hurting her jaw as her teeth froze in her mouth. The curls of warm, white air floated into the tree limbs above her and the light streaming between the branches stood brightly on the sparkling snow. Before her hunter could both note the steam and confirm her location, she processed her chakra and released a blast of chakra in all directions without molding it into a specific jutsu.

The effect would be felt in Konoha quickly, almost immediately, but it would take some time before a team could be sent out and reach her. It was perhaps her solution to getting home.

If she could survive that long.

In the meantime, it would force the other ninja to react. The white-brown landscape remained still and unearthly quiet. The light patter of melted snow falling from a tree caused her to shift her gaze sharply, senses on high alert. She knew that the missing nin was working, closing in on her position. Yet this time he didn't come back into the open immediately. She slowly scanned her eyes across the field of vision, wishing she had a Hyuuga's eyes, the pig's mind control, the lazy genius's brain. There was no movement perceptible, but she felt his closeness. More than anything, she wished for her Green Beast's endurance and speed: injured or not, she'd be halfway to Konoha if she had his tenacity. She suddenly heard the missing nin crunch in the snow before she pinpointed his location. The sharp jolt of pain up her leg while shifting right caused black spot to darken her vision. The kunai missed, although that was due to her shift, not his lack of precision. Even blinded, she threw one of her kunai is the direction his came from. She heard his parry knock the blade away.

Her vision returned to catch sight of a stocky form moving from behind the thick trucks of a cluster of trees. She took a deep breath, steadying and tightening her muscles. Without any gingerness she planted the injured foot, her lips skimming back from her teeth - baring them as she hissed in pain and defiance.

With a rough push she launched herself from the tree, throwing the remaining kunai, one with the tag attached at the same time. She heard the metal-on-metal as the Rock nin weaved to the left, his short sword out, parrying the kunai away in quick succession. Catching a branch, she redirected herself into the canopy, hoping she was moving fast enough to clear the blast.

As he parried the third kunai the tag ruptured and the explosion blew her off her footing. With desperate graceless energy, she wrapped herself around a thick trunk to keep from falling into the ignited matter. Still she watched warily, a fist charged ready to drop on anything human that moved beneath her.

The suddenness of the hit from her left knocked her out of the tree. He precisely dislocated her left arm as she lost balance, the process punctuated by her beleaguered scream. She hit the ground hard and swore under her breath, trying to climb back to her feet but her ankle gave beneath her. An involuntary hiss of pain shot from between her teeth. The frozen snow hurt.

Looking to the Rock nin's last confirmed position she noted the charred log in the explosion's center: Replacement justu. He was fast. Her eyes fixed on him in the trees above. Hm, not that fast though, the thought reassured her as she assessed him. Her kunai stood in his deltoid muscle. He removed it and chucked it at her feet in warning. Jumping from the trees and cracked his knuckles before moving to close in again. It was luck that she still held the chakra-charged right fist, but she could only vainly hope it would be enough.

Pulling back her fist, she readied herself to break the ground when he stepped within the circle of trees, despite the likely aggravation it would cause her ankle. At least she could brace for it since she would be the one splitting the earth this time.

A second form dashed into her vision, a green blur that held position between her and the missing Rock nin.

Silence. The Rock nin pulled up to evaluate the new threat. His shiny hair settled in a perfectly neat, round shape on the back of his neck. With cover, she sucked in a relieved breath as she gladly recognized the form between her and her attacker. It burned her deprived lungs as she heaved harshly. He must have already been well outside of Konoha when he felt her chakra. She was very lucky today.

"Konoha-san, are you okay?"

She paused, uncertain. The question came from her fellow Leaf nin, but it took her a moment to recall that they were in the field and not among allies. It was a precaution to forgo using her name, to protect her identity, and a reminder to protect his. However, he usually didn't bother with this formality. Perhaps he expected the missing nin to run now that his prey was no longer lame and alone.

She checked the Rock nin. He maintained a fight-or-flight stance without commitment to either response. Maybe he was considering bolting. That was useless: her fellow Leaf-nin ran like the wind. In fact now that his boyish chub had melted away he was among Konoha's fastest when he removed the weights. She released the charge in her hand.

"Negative, Konoha-san. Right leg incapacitated and shoulder dislocated."

"How?" The question flung back quickly but softly, his voice sharp and razor tight in a tone she didn't like. She knew it to be his most serious field-voice and he didn't mess around when it came to his duty. He wanted information on his opponent's skills. She swallowed hard.

"Enhanced chakra grip to shatter the ankle. Taijutsu to the shoulder. Earth type jutsu and close range fighting style. Favors attacking from low left."

"Ah." To her, the response bespoke so much more than a single syllable. Personally she berated herself for the mistake that crushed her leg. Clearly, the other was not so concerned with her error. The word aired his sympathy. It had been five years since his left leg and arm had been crushed by sand, but she was aware of the overwhelming trial the breaks put him through.

The word also aired his anger: she felt his fury.

"No further than the first Gate Konoha-san. This trash isn't worth more than that." He didn't look at her as she laid the restriction on his firm shoulders. His eyes never left the missing nin's form as the other started to move, circling, but she noted the sharp nod from the ripple of his hair on the back of his neck. She felt the immediate release of the Initial Gate, done quietly without the drama he usually gave it. He was looking to end this quickly then.

The missing Rock nin was backing off. Even if he was planning to close in a moment, it wasn't a good idea to give this Konoha ninja that kind of room. He built up his speed on this kind of space and that speed powered his attacks.

She leaned heavy on the tree as the other closed with the Rock nin. The speed she could barely follow years earlier now transparent to her, she followed each move with her eyes. His movements drew her in; she couldn't look away from his powerful, graceful figure if she tried. The familiar form moved through taijutsu she knew so well: Roundhouse, dodge a sword stroke, punching series, sweep kick, ax kick. The Rock nin lost his footing and took the ax kick to the chest. He burrowed. The other moved to higher ground, watching for the opponent's reappearance. From a different region an earth jutsu shot from the soil, kicking up a snow shower. He dodged both ice and earth but was punched by the ninja exiting the burrow.

Their sparring shifted to full taijutsu as the Leaf nin broke the Rock's grip open and sent the short sword flying, blade rattling theatrically in a nearby tree. She pitied the missing nin, who seemed slow to realize how fully outclassed he was by the taijutsu specialist. With a replacement jutsu close combat ended and she caught sight of the Rock nin settling on a branch to build chakra for a ninjutsu. The green ninja scanned his surroundings. She puckered and released a whistling series similar to the trill of a Konoha native bird. The other Leaf whipped around, jumping into the canopy. With his jutsu incomplete the Rock nin was forced to drop his hands to fend off a series of punches followed by a flying Spinning Leaf kick.

They dropped back to the tundra below. She had already stealthily moved to the foot of another tree and now maintained a better vantage on the fight's progression.

She straightened and readied a handful of kunai. Her fellow nin would know they were coming from his close work with Konoha's resident weapons master. She had no fear of hitting him. They had teamed often over the intervening years, especially west of Konoha: toward Suna and the red-headed sand user they both called friend and Kazekage. They both knew the terrain well from frequent travel between the allied cities.

She saw his large, expressive eyes flick to her before forcing the missing nin through a series of kicks that turned him. The nin's back was opened to her: a large, easy target. She adjusted her stance and released several kunai, followed by a pair of specialized ones at full speed in quick succession.

The kill felt anticlimactic. His mistake was greater than hers: to assume because she couldn't move easily the fight was still one on one. Amateurish mistake. Clearly he had not faced multiple opponents in too long. Probably true, her other mind supplied: his description on the hunter lists suggested a reclusive nature to his known movements and his marked negligence to take underworld assignments of late. Two kunai found his vitals from behind, one managing to penetrate the spaces between ribs and the other to his less protected liver, the latter being one of the specialized kunai, with a blade like a fish hook: goes in easily, but hard to take out and designed to create serious internal damage. The hits were followed by her fellow Leaf nin's swift kick up shattering his nose into his brain. Because he was not one of theirs, the dead nin would need to be brought in for reward and to be stripped from their lists.

She turned her head as the green ninja, grim determination marking his face, paced over and took up the short sword. She didn't need to watch to know he would thrust it through the heart to be sure of the death. She bit her lip to keep from crying against it. Brutality, despite the use of Iron-Fist style, was against his nature. He preferred a clean fight, an honorable defeat instead of the kill. But sometimes death was death and it needed to be quick and sure. She knew it was not his first kill, but she didn't want to witness what a ninja's life made the idealist do. For her, her mind supplied, in this case he killed for her.

She panted for another moment before collapsing against the tree. Her leg ready to give, she sat with a thump into the snow.

"Konoha-san, he was alone?"

"Yes." She looked up to see him standing over her, wiping the blade with a scrap of cloth. His senses remained on high alert. The sheath was tucked in a loop off his vest, and at close range she could see the Rock ninja crest and a family crest emblazoned in the metalwork. It would prove the kill until someone could reclaim the body. His eyes watched her through his study of the blade. He frowned at a smudge on the metal, trying to remove it. The weapon masters' training was thorough: his care of the blade impeccable before he sheathed it.

"Are you sure?" He asked, the frown worrying her.

"Yes." She repeated, watching him closely. The tension standing in his shoulders dropped. He knelt to be even with her.

"Sakura-chan…" His voice softened from hard steel to warm wool. With compassion in his dark eyes his callused palm stroked the pink hair off her face. His other hand gently rest on her arm in a question. With her safety felt, she closed her eyes absorbing his careful touch. She hissed through gritted teeth

"Do it." She felt him nod and take her limp arm in his warm hands. She knew them to actually be very nice hands, despite callus and scars. They were not tapered and thin like a Hyuuga's. His palms had proportioned width to his torso, making his hold square and firm but his fingers were slim cords of controlled muscle to match his height and power.

"I am sorry, Sakura-chan." She let the warmth of his voice heat her before his swift movement caused her to cry out. The humerus and its muscles popped back into place. She sped the healing with chakra, refusing it the opportunity to scar the inner tissues and wiggled her fingers, flexing her arm.

"Thank you, Lee-kun."

"What about your leg?" He spoke softly; she feared he sounded too hopeful. She knew he thought highly of the skills learned with the Hokage. He'd be the subject of her development numerous times: insisting that he'd only allow her to perform his procedures even if she wasn't yet trained in that area. It had spurred her to further advancement often. She shook her head.

"I can't fix it here. It'll have to wait until later and I'll probably be moved off field duty for a while." She sighed and shook her head, "Tsunade-shishou's going to ream me out for this."

"So, Sakura-chan will be okay?" She smiled, reaching out and touching her fingers to the corners of his eyes. He was not as prone to the same theatrics as his younger years, but he remained easy to move to tears. Momentarily she'd forgotten what a break like this meant to him.

"Yes Lee-kun, I'll heal just fine. I just can't do it here or it'll be done too roughly to do any good." Relief colored his face. He dropped to his knees while throwing his arms around her. She smiled and squeezed him back. He leaned back and grinned, a spark of the exuberant Green Beast appeared.

"I will carry you back to Konoha Sakura-chan! I will be perfectly careful not to jar you leg one bit and you will be well again in no time!" He reached for her again.

"Wait," She stopped him, starting to dig in her pockets, "I should splint it for now, so it doesn't take any further damage. Will you find me a straight branch to brace it with?" He nodded, his face flipping back from jubilant to mission-serious in a heartbeat. Unbending, he looked carefully through the trees for a likely specimen. She found herself entranced by the play of corded muscle under his skin. With a shake of her head, she reached around her pockets for the bandages she carried. As he moved under a sizable oak she swore lowly and he turned back to her; one thick eyebrow rose expressively.

"Sakura-chan?" His voice rung strangely low and sensual on her ears.

"I used the last of my medical bandages in the northwest village." She explained. She and the other medical ninja took turns visiting the surrounding Fire Country villages offering medical assistance. He took a step back in her direction. "There was a young boy. He sprained a wrist while working incorrectly with a scythe and…" She tailed off. The omnipresent wrap of bandage from his right wrist slithered into her lap. He moved back to the oak wordlessly and jumped into the canopy.

His silence unnerved her. He wasn't a quiet person by nature or usually as silkily suave as he seemed to her right now. His every movement caught her eyes and as he dropped out of the tree again, she admired his lithe form. He hefted the branch he'd acquired and with practiced ease he cleaved it cleanly down the middle with a utility blade from a vest pocket. His head began to move towards her and she hurriedly dropped her eyes to wrap her leg in his bandages. Through her eyelashes she watched him trim down the two halves of the branch and clean it of knots and splinters.

He brought the sculpted boughs to her and helped in the creation of a sturdy brace, while keeping a respectable distance. She needed what light was available; winter meant light waned quickly at this hour. The makeshift mending done, he leaned close to her, their white whispers of breath sharing the same air. With confident, tender hands he placed her injured right leg over the left one, and then tucked her right side against his chest picking her up by the left knee and back. She wound her arms around his neck and leaned into him as he straightened up, their cool cheeks brushing. She laid her head on his shoulder. Turning east, he moved towards home placidly.

They were quiet for a few moments. Her breath finally returned to normal-resting. He found an even pace, taking each step more carefully than she felt necessary. But then, he was always true to his word and he said he would carry her carefully.

"You can move a little faster, Lee-kun, we don't want to be too far away when it gets full dark." She spoke cheerfully, but quietly. Her head was right under his ear, after all.

"You should be more careful, Sakura-chan. It is unlike you to make a mistake that injures." Even with the mild chastisement, he did quicken his steps slightly.

"That's why Tsunade-shishou's going to give me the scolding of a lifetime." She grumped, irritated to be reminded of what faced her at home. She felt him smile.

"I will tell Tsunade-sama not to scold you. It is not your fault that after a week in the field working hard you encountered a ninja better rested than yourself. You have bags under your eyes again, you know." He nudged her head lightly with his chin. She felt his cheer falter. "Still, I apologize for not being there sooner. I should have been with you and then Sakura-chan would not have been injured at all. After all I was nearby in the middle of a field studying some new moss types when I felt your chakra. If I had noticed you before the chakra output it would have been better." She felt his fingers tightening against her body and his chest tense. He vehemently despised when she had injuries she couldn't heal herself. He took it as a personal insult against the promise he'd made to her so many years ago.

"Do you need to go back, Lee-kun?" She soothed, "I can sit and watch a while. This can wait a little longer to be healed."

"No, I got all the samples and drawings done that I wanted, but thank you for asking, Sakura-chan." She enjoyed when he said her name.

"Tell me about the moss, Lee-kun." The moratorium against using his name before gave her greater enjoyment in the formation of the words now. He began to talk, his voice rumbling soothingly under her cheek through his chest. In the cold air she couldn't smell him, but she knew the scent anyway. It was crisp and earthy and warm. She was almost happy for the lame leg. As he spoke the tension in his system released back to only what was required to carry her. She felt every step and enjoyed the feeling of every step. His arms held her snugly against him and he rarely shifted her to ease his muscles. She wasn't concerned about being too heavy, but cramping could be a potential problem as they neared home. She made sure to listen to his description of the moss, even as she reveled in being touched. Touching in the field usually meant grapples and kunai and all the instruments of her trade: scalpels, needles and blood slickly coating everything. When available, she craved contact that was simple and purely contact.

"So the last variety you think might have a medicinal application?" She asked after a time.

"Maybe. It is similar to a moss already used in Konoha as a numbing agent, so it may have similar properties. I have a series of samples for Tsunade-sama. Perhaps I should let Sakura-chan give them to her when you make your report." He tactfully neglected to remind her that she would be limping on crutches to make her report, or, if the Hogake was in a hurry and wanted to see her immediately, he would still be carrying her to the office. If she were in the habit of betting she'd put her money on the latter and she didn't have her mentor's bad luck with dice and cards.

"It wouldn't help enough, but thanks for the thought. Still, it's your find, Lee-kun, you should show it to her."

"Sakura-chan?"

"Hmm?" She answered. He hesitated. Her brows drew together at an awkward shuffle-step. Had he almost tripped there? Her senses had dropped from high alert, and with the misstep she was back at full range. He eyes scanned for others in the woods, picking out wildlife and bits of foliage poking through the layer of frosting ice. Nothing seemed to be out of place, but one could never be sure.

"Lee-kun? Are we being followed?"

"No." She let some of the tension fall back off. Still, the least she could do was keep her senses up while he carried her.

"Sakura-chan?" With her heightened senses shifted to him, she noticed his pulse set high and his erratic heartbeat.

"What's wrong Lee-kun? Maybe you should put me down, you seem to be under a strain."

"I am sorry I failed you as a protector, Sakura-chan." Shit. His heartrate spiked. She thought over their conversation. Shit, she'd forgotten to respond properly before when he'd apologized earlier. He continued his voice squeaking although he'd long since past puberty, "D-does Sakura-chan wish someone else to protect her now? If Sakura-chan has another protector I will allow him to step forward and perform the task, so long as he does so honorably, Saku-" She reached up to put a hand over his mouth. His lips were cool and soft despite mild chapping on his lower lip. She took an unsteady breath and applied her chakra to soothe them both with a minor relaxing jutsu. It was not a full out genjutsu, but a small medical twist on genjutsu that fooled the mind into a more rest-like state. When had she lost her breath again? Her other mind made a snarky comment regarding green spandex and pectoral muscles that she didn't bother to respond to. With both of them calmer, she addressed the issue at hand.

"I like having Lee-kun as my protector." She twisted slightly in his arms so he could see her eyes. "It's okay that you weren't here this time: I'm not badly hurt. I can fix it and then everything will be fine." She used the well worn phase and smiled the same smile she gave him three months earlier when her deltoid had been torn in training with the painter.

It was the same words and smile that reassured him when she'd nearly caught hypothermia eleven months ago. And before that he'd returned her smile after a bout with the stomach flu. He'd promptly caught it the following week. Four years earlier when she'd broken her foot trying to use Hokage's ground shatter for the first time in the field, that smile had him grinning back in moments.

This time his serious, worried frown continued. Her smiled ebbed under his scrutiny. His eyes dropped and he stepped forward.

"Lee-kun? I said it was okay. No one is better at protecting me than Lee-kun. I don't need new protector." He swallowed and began another word.

"Nob…" She hissed; cutting off the name he was about to voice. He stopped moving forward and stared down at her and the vehemence of her response. She knew her heartrate was spiking and her senses flung into mindless, angry chaos. Irrational, she told herself, completely unnecessary and that rat isn't worth your pain.

"He's nothing. A whiner and a poser who thinks he's making jounin rank this year but won't. Tsunade-shishou and the council aren't that dumb. I'm a member of the most prestigious rookie genin class in three generations." And she was. In the five intervening years eight of Rookie Nine made jounin, and as a class it was accomplished in record time. "None of them would ever give me the time of day again if I went from having the Taijutsu Master of Konoha as my protector to that little snake." His wide eyes widened further. After a moment of blinking silence he began moving towards their home again.

"The marketplace gossip has linked you to him. Apparently you've been on several dates and the old man who own the fruit stall says that he's shopping for a new apartment for two." He let her know. His voice belied his body. Her medical senses still picked up on the discomfort that held his system more rigid than it should have been. She huffed, angrily snapping.

"I know what the gossip says. The gossip's a week behind though." She sighed at the speculative look he shot her. He wasn't cowed at all by her anger. "I guess he hasn't been out since I left for the outlying villages. The apartment's for him and his real girlfriend: a chunin twit he was trying to make jealous by using me." She ground out the words, "Don't know the details and I didn't know about her until it was too late: a fight, something about a woman who could do it all and apparently she thinks I fit the bill enough to create jealousy. That incited an evening raid to destroy his closet before our fourth date." She snorted, "A raid that ended in sex." His mouth pursed tightly. She continued. "I walked in on it. Idiot left his door open when he sensed an intruder upstairs."

His arms shook and she leaned further into his chest, tightening her arms around his neck slightly. She had turned down her heightened senses, but she didn't need them to feel his heart hammer or feel his chest heave in anger. She winced as her ankle smarted. A small gasp of pain escaped her and he looked down on her in surprise. The action caused his rage to subside somewhat. He swallowed hard before speaking.

"Did you like him?" He asked his voice approaching casual and his shaking arms almost under control. She tossed her head dismissively instead of shrugging and forcing him to compensate.

"It was only three dates. I wasn't attached, but I still beat him black and blue, probably a little green and yellow mottled too. I thrashed him rather soundly and when he tried to fight back I threw him through the wall and into his own closet." She chuckled. His arms softened around her and she smiled, pleased to know she'd found just the thing to calm his incensed state. It was a good thing.

He was known in Konoha for the occasional display of his Drunken Fist now. It was also known to some that the nights he 'forgot the affect of alcohol on his system' or 'mixed up his drink with someone else's' always coincided with nights he happen to be in the same bar as a gentleman whom had slighted either herself, the weapons master, or the Hyuuga heir. The Drunken Fist had made a single appearance following slights to both the wind user (in Suna) and mind specialist. The only reason they didn't continue was the girls' steadfast demand they could handle it themselves. The two actually were a vindictive team and often helped each other in their retribution schemes. She found it more entertaining to allow the taijutsu specialist to have some fun. That and he could be enjoyable company when drunk and done fighting, but wouldn't indulge without a good reason.

Returning to her more current slight, she replayed through some choice images of the havoc she wrecked on the chunin's musculature. She chuckled, "I suppose that's the reason no one knows the situation's changed. He's probably embarrassed to be beaten so thoroughly by a girl, even if I am higher ranked. Girlfriend took a few hits too." She added thoughtfully. "They're probably holed up together." She felt him nodding and the mood lightening.

"So, Lee-kun, I guess you'll just have to stay my protector forever." She smiled, satisfied. He didn't return it.

"I can not stay Sakura-chan's protector forever, as much as I would like to. But I will remain your protector until you find someone who can do better." He was using his serious voice and she started at the implication.

"But Lee-kun, you promised me." She tried to tease. He looked down at her. "Oh, Lee-kun, I'm sorry. What did I say?" She reached up and brushed away the tears building in his eyes. He dark eyes seemed to melt into his tears and she found herself captivated by the overwelming emotions. His sensitivity leaked into everything about him: how carefully he touched her, how gently his eyes fell on her and in how easily he cried.

"S-Sakura-chan may mean that now, b-but when you…" He paused and swallowed, shaking his head briefly to clear it. He stopped walking and held her tightly. "When Sakura-chan chooses a husband, then he will promise in his vows to protect you. I cannot stand in the way of that vow with one as childish as my own." Oh you dummy, her mind piped up, his teammates will marry this summer. While it didn't change their team dynamic, clearly he'd been thinking about the implications. It gave her cause to think about it more seriously too. She was forced into silence. That's a first, her mind spoke. She hadn't ever considered how a serious relationship would alter the one she had now with this man.

He began to walk again and she finished wiping away the tears for him. He thanked her softly and she nodded. Content to lean her head on his shoulder in the dimming light, she considered the point he made. She thought about the relationship they had. This man was the closest in her life, at least as close as her former teammates and sensei. But unlike them, he had remained close and never left. The bond was unshaken by teams, missions, and months without contact or promotions without a chance to celebrate. Their time together, like today, was marked with compassion and understanding: a strange symbiotic relationship between the man who protects the healer and the woman who heals the protector.

Konoha came into the view with the setting sun. On a ridge only a short walk away they looked over their home as he plodded down the path. It glittered with streetlights and snow and the warmth of thatched roofs with ripples of heat escaping chimneys. She loved this small city. The cold caused her to shiver slightly and he pulled her further to his body, allowing her to feel his warmth. The city of ninjas looked idyllic from here, nestled in the crook of the mountain cliff and the woods.

"I don't want another protector." She asserted. He stopped, wide eyes looking on her in complete astonishment. "Ever." She punctuated the word with force. He never dated much, and neither did she. Occasionally a girl would enter his life for a few months, but they all left just as quickly. It was the same for her. Their own odd relationship, their unique affectionate byplay remained more entrancing.

"Ah! Rock-san! And Haruno-san! Good, good! The Hokage has been anxious for news of both of you after Haruno-san's chakra spike. She was about to send out a team, but also said that you might return together first. Ano-san can take you up to the tower, I'll tell Kurenai-sensei her team's off duty." He swallowed and both ignored the gatesman for the moment. His voice unearthed: husky and low and it sent shivers down her spine.

"Well… Perhaps Sakura-chan could use a protector _and_ escort the next few days? To carry her when her foot is tired?" They both knew her healing would be swifter than that. With a quirky expression she'd rarely seen, he continued, "And Sakura-chan must eat very well now to regain her strength, so maybe dinner tonight at a nice restaurant? After our report, of course."

"Yes." She breathed, a brilliant smile crossing her face. He grinned to match it.

"Okay! To the Hokage-sama's office!" He hefted her easily and with his declaration made he moved swiftly through the gates, only a nod to the gateman as he led the way. She held onto him in delight, no longer grumbling about seeing her mentor. She had a date afterwards as incentive to survive the meeting.

* * *

_AN: I had no other name for this work, so it is as simple as it can be. I'm open to other suggestions._

_This is not really a sequel to Breaking and Mending, but this world and B&Ms have some similarities. I wanted to write Lee and Sakura older, in a relationship that was more an unspoken accord than the teenage dramas allow. More my style than B&M's outright love story. I thought this came out rather nice and as before, it has given me some other ideas. Enjoy!_


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